Bryant's Editorial Comment

By Stephen M. Silverman

08/28/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

Lipreaders -- and members of the conservative group American Family Association -- are up in arms over a remark anchor Bryant Gumbel might have made on Thursday's broadcast of CBS's "Early Show," when the microphone was off but the camera wasn't. After an interview with Robert Knight, a spokesman for the Family Research Council (a backer of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that allows the Boy Scouts of America to exclude gays as leaders), Gumbel was believed to have muttered, "What a (bleeping) idiot." The Association is calling for the TV host's ouster, while Knight told the Associated Press that he'd settle for an apology. While Gumbel has made no comment about any of this, CBS News issued the following statement: "He was making a casual remark of some sort, but it is unclear what the comment was and, in any case, it bears no relevance to the content of 'The Early Show.' "